Irish Tax Revenues Rise With Recovering Economy (06-02-2017)

The Irish Finance Department has announced a budgetary surplus of EUR1.47bn (USD1.58bn) in January 2017, which it attributed to buoyant value-added tax receipts.

The Department recorded a EUR272m year-on-year improvement from the EUR1.2bn surplus seen in January 2016. Tax revenue increased by 6.1 percent year-on-year, to EUR4.77bn.

The Department said that January is generally the largest month of the year for VAT receipts, with collections in the month relating to the November/December trading period. Receipts increased by 10.2 percent year-on-year, with EUR2.3bn collected - evidence that Irish economic activity is recovering more strongly.

There was a marginal increase in income tax receipts of 0.5 percent. The Department said that while January is not a significant month in terms of corporation tax, receipts were up EUR40m when compared to the same period in 2016.